Protective cap for aerosol containers



April 28, 1959 R. H. ABPLANALP 2,884,160

PROTECTIVE CAP FOR AEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed Sept. so, 1957 INVENTOR P051527 H HBPMAMLP M AM United States Patent PROTECTIVE CAP FOR AEROSOL CONTAINERS Robert H. Abplanalp, Bronxville, N.Y., assiguor of onehalf to John J. Baessler, Bronxville, N.Y.

Application September 30, 1957, Serial No. 687,238

2 Claims. (Cl. 220-60) This invention is a protective cap for aerosol containers and more particularly that type of container wherein the discharge of the pressurized material therein is controlled by the operation of a push button, normally protected by a cap to which the improvements of the present invention are directed.

According to the conventional practice, the dispensing valve of an aerosol container is supported on a cup permanently secured to the can or other container and provided with a marginal bead. The cup has a central perforation through which the valve stem projects and a manually operable dispensing button is mounted on the outer end of the valve stem.

The protective caps heretofore employed with aerosol dispensers generally comprise a circular top wall having adepending peripheral side wall and a coaxial internal skirt also depending from the top wall and of lesser depth than the side wall. The skirt is provided internally with inwardly projecting bosses, usually three in number, of such size that, when the cap is applied to the container, the bosses are forced over the periphery of the container cup in order to place the skirt under radial tension for the purpose of holding the cap in place. Structures, such as those described, are most commonly used in this art and, in order to properly function and withstand the stresses to which they are subjected, they must be made relatively heavy. They are ordinarily molded from plastic which is expensive and they thus not only materially add to the cost of the cap and the package as a whole, but impart more weight to such package than is desirable.

The object of the present invention is primarily to materially decrease the weight of a package cap of the general character described, so as to minimize in shipping costs and cost of material required and at the same time to produce a cap of a strength comparable with the caps of the prior art and one which is not constantly under stress when in place on the container.

Speaking generally, the cap of the present invention embodies a top wall with an integral depending side wall and with internal lugs cast integral with both the top and side walls and provided near their free ends with cavities. The upper portion of each of these cavities is an arched concave dome adapted, when the cap is applied to the container, to seat upon the bead of the cup while the lower end of the lug constitutes a gripping jaw adapted to embrace the periphery of the cup bead and having a lip to project beneath and seize the under side of the bead to detachably secure the cap to the container. I Slight radial stress is placed upon the cap, when applying it to the container, but after it is applied, this stress is preferably entirely relieved due to the shape of the jaw and the manner of engagement of its lip with the head of the cup. This construction permits the cap of this invention to be made of a fraction of the weight of prior caps of this general character and thus effects marked economies, not only from the standpoint of material involved, but also ease of manufacture.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted 2,884,160 Patented Apr. 28,?19 '59j,

to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed descrip The accompanying drawing illustrates one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an aerosol dispenser equipped with a cap according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a central section through a cap embodying the present invention, said section being taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the cap. I

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental section illustratin the manner in which the cap of the present invention is associated with an aerosol container, shown in this figure in dotted lines.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 designates an aerosol container of conventional form having a top opening, the margin of which is rolled as indicated at 2. A conventional cup 3, carrying the usual dispensing valve and manually operable button, is mounted within the top opening of the container and the periphery of said cup forms a head over and about the rolled edge 2 of the container as shown at 4; These parts are strictly conventional and are shown in the drawing simply to explain the manner in which the cap of the present invention cooperates therewith. -My Patent No. 2,631,814 is illustrative of an aerosol package of the kind described.

The cap of this invention comprises a top wall 5 which is preferably circular in form, although it may be of any desired shape. In the embodiment shown, the top wall 5 has a depending cylindrical side wall or skirt 6 and within the confines of the resulting cap are molded a plurality of lugs 6, preferably three in number. These lugs are made integral with the top and side walls, as shown best in Figs. 2 and 4, and each of said lugs is pro vided at its lower inner corner with a cavity 7. The upper portion 8 of this cavity constitutes an arched concave dome adapted to seat upon the bead 4 of the cup and it is so shaped to conform with said bead after the manner of a saddle, so that it cannot slip ofi of the bead in either radial direction of the cup. Laterally of this saddle-like portion each lug extends downwardly to form a jaw 9 provided at its lower end with an inwardly projecting lip 10 adapted to project beneath the peripheral edge of the cup to seize such cup and detachably lock the cap to the cup. The outer portion of each lug is cut away as shown at 11.

The parts are so proportioned that the cap may be applied to the container by passing said cap downwardly over the top of the container, as shown in Fig. 4, until the saddle-like part 8 of each lug comes to a seat on the upper surface of the bead 4 of the cup with the jaw 9 extending downwardly about the periphery of the bead and the lip 10 projecting partially beneath such head as indicated in this figure. Thus the jaw 9 and its lip 10 constitute in effect a hook-shaped portion adapted to hook under the lower peripheral edge of the cup to mount the cup on the container. However, the walls of the cap are so light that the cap is easily flexed to engage the hookshaped portion with the cup when mounting the cap on the container and to permit manual disengagement of the cap from the container when desired.

While the parts are coming into the position shown in Fig. 4, the side wall 6 is stressed or slightly deformed to permit the passage of the lip 10 over the greatest diameter of the head 4. However, when the cap is in its final position shown in this figure, the parts may be substantially free from stress as the lip will hold the cap in place without continual stress on the latter.

The cap of the present invention is preferably manu- 3 faetured by conventionalpressure molding technique. the walls and the lugs of the cap may be made all of the same thickness, although" in practice lpreferably make the top wall a little thicker than the side walls, the latter of which may be made very thin. However all walls of the cap may be made'thinnerthan in the prior caps while imparting'to 'the cap the requisite physical strength. Even when the lugs 6 are made quite thin they still have remarkable strength for the r'eason that they are molded integral with both the top wall and the side wall and are thus reinforced by both walls.

It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the lower edge of the sidewalls 6 has clearance space between it and the container 1 and since the lugs 6 are spaced apart about thecap, free circulation of 'air is permitted through the interior of the cap. This is' in marked contradistinction to caps employing skirts as hereinbefore described. Such skirted caps form a closed substantially sealed space in which condensation of moisture may take place and cause rusting of the cup 3 and any other metal parts enclosed within said cap. With the circulation through the cap of the present invention this does not occur.

Another advantage of the present cap is that any weight imposed on the top of the cap, as by stacking containers one on the other, is borne by the seats or abutments 8 of the lugs which lugs act as struts to reinforce the top and transmit the weight in straight lines directly to the upper surface of the bead 4 of the cup so as to minimize all chances of breakage under loads thus imposed.

The present cap is easily removed by the user by simply grasping the cap and pulling it upwardly, the side wall 6 flexing under such pull to release the cap.

Experience with the cap of this invention has shown that it may be made of materially less weight than any prior cap for the same purpose, of whichl am aware: It thus produces marked economies in manufacture and corresponding economies in shipping costs and charge to the ultimate consumer.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms, but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A protective cap for an aerosol container ha ving a bead at its top, said cap comprising: an inverted hollow cup having a top wall with an integral peripheral skirt, and a plurality of fin-like lugs arcuately spaced apart about the interior of the cup, each lug being integral with and projecting downwardly from the top wall and integral with and projecting radially inwardly from the skirt and provided at its bottom with a saddle-likecon cavity to seat upon and overlie the bead of the container, and a hook-like'portion to engage with the under side or,

said bead. V

2. A protective cap according to claim 1, wherein the lugs are three in number.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Jordan Dec. 25, 1956 

